The Athens Olympics always meant that for the Greek media at least this was never going to be a slow summer. Tortuous preparations ensured that the countdown alone was nail-biting stuff. But few could foresee the king-sized drama that would accompany the 28th summer Olympiad - both on and off the track. Before the world's biggest sports event even got started more column inches were being devoted to the issue of doping - thanks to alleged drug violations by Greece's two star sprinters - than any other story.

If there was one respect in which the Athens games had set "an unwanted record" it was in the number of athletes who had been banned after testing positive for illegal substances, said Kathimerini. "Doping emerges as the new national sport," announced the conservative daily. "Everything seems to indicate that Greek sports officials systematically turned a blind eye to the use of banned substances by our athletes and disregarded commitments for clean sporting events."

Despite the embarrassment generated by the "doping plague" there was one consolation, the paper said. "The positive side of the story is that the undisputed intensification of doping checks ... make the Athens Olympics one of the cleanest in the history of the modern games."

But the saga is unlikely to end soon. With the government and socialist opposition trading accusations over the "drug deceit", the murky world of performance-enhancing drugs looks set to top Greek news long after the Olympics have finished.

A judicial investigation into the farcical flight from drug testers of the disgraced track stars, Kostas Kenderis and Ekaterini Thanou, would go "right to the bone", predicted the mass-selling Eleftheros Typos. "What people are waiting for, and want to learn, is the whole truth, no matter who is responsible," said the authoritative centre-left daily Ta Nea . "Even more, they expect credible and effective measures to be taken to decisively confront the problem. That won't happen with words and counter-accusations, but with cross-party consent so that the phenomenon can be attacked from its roots."

Writing in yesterday's Kathimerini, KI Angelopoulos agreed: "The government's reaction will show whether it wants to crack down on the doping network ... Recent disclosures have confirmed that this murky network depended on collaboration and consensus between sports, state and political officials."

But nothing could detract from the self-congratulation. In a rare display of unanimity, the country's deeply partisan press concurred that, so far, the games have been a rip-roaring success. Greece had defied international sceptics and staged "an unbelievably well-organised Olympics", said the popular Eleftherotypia.

There remained, however, the worrying prospect of what to do with the Olympic facilities after the games. What was particularly disconcerting, agreed most media commentators, was that officials had no post-Olympic plans for the costly venues.

"The maintenance and best-possible use of this huge legacy ... is a big challenge for the government," said Eleftheros Typos. "The possibilities are endless and are not confined only to athletics. Beyond everything else ... the ultimate outcome will be judged by the ability of our country to maintain the facilities at current high standards and to use them to the benefit of the public in cooperation either with the state or private sectors."

Yet while the doping violations had undoubtedly hurt Greek national pride, a younger group of unknown athletes had come to the fore to help heal the wounds. One such talent was Ilias Iliadis, who picked up Greece's second gold in judo - the first the country had ever won in the combat sport. The Georgian-born teenager may be unable to speak Greek but he was "made of solid gold", the normally staid To Vimaroared.

Another unexpected talent was the "flying goddess" Fani Halkia, who redeemed Greek track glory by winning the 400m hurdles. The 25-year-old athlete told the popular tabloid Expresso: "I wanted to prove that as a nation we are born to be winners."

Off track, however, the undisputed star of the games emerged in the unlikely form of a taxi driver who made the headlines after returning the silver medal a Dutch rower had dropped in his cab. "I couldn't resist trying it on," the driver, Ioannis Zavos, told the conservative Apoyematini. "But it really didn't suit me."